Hello clarinetumd
The Temple of Set (referred to hereafter as ToS) has a web site at
http://www.xeper.org/ Other contact details are:
P.O. Box 470307
San Francisco, CA 94147
E-mail: ExecDir@xeper.org
The web site is the first place I visited, in order to get information
about this organization in its own words.
It calls itself “a tool for personal empowerment and self cultivation…
Temple of Set seeks above all to honor and enshrine consciousness. We
wish to apprehend what makes us each individually unique and use this
gift to make ourselves stronger in all facets of our being… The
Left-Hand Path is a process for creating an individual, powerful
essence that exists above and beyond animal life. It is thus the true
vehicle for personal immortality.”
This is an expression of one of the two sides that characterise
seekers of occult knowledge. The seeker on the Right-Hand Path sees
within himself a spark of the divine light of the One Source
(divinity, God, or whatever else you want to call it). He sees his
path as a return back to that Source, which requires his ego to be
subsumed to the divine spark within, often called the Higher Self. In
contrast, the seeker on the Left-Hand Path sees his ego as the source
of all that he is, and therefore works to develop and strengthen the
ego. His devotion to the ego can mean that he will have no regard of
the consequences his actions have on others.
In the words of ToS, the main components of the Left-Hand Path are:
1. Antinomianism: “Initiation begins with denial and rejection of the
herd-mentality. The cultural and social values of the masses, whether
propounded by conventional religions or by mass media, are recognized
as obstacles to individual spiritual development. Human society values
predictability, stability, or stasis above all things. The Initiate,
by contrast, seeks continuous, positive self-evolution…. To work magic
that evolves the self, the magician's will must prevail in the
subjective universe as the massed wills of others do in the objective
one. Once such strength of individual will is obtained, it can be
extended into objective environments as well. But as long as an
individual allows himself to be governed by animal emotions such as
shame, fear, or the desire for social acceptance, he cannot become an
Adept of Black Magic.”
2. Individuality: Here the ToS claims that it cannot dictate the
personal goals of its members.
3. Control: “Black Magic focuses on self-determined goals. Its formula
is "my will be done", as opposed to the White Magic of the Right-Hand
Path, whose formula is "thy will be done Black Magic is shunned and
feared because to do Black Magic is to take full responsibility for
one's actions, evolution, and effectiveness…. Initiatory workings thus
represent the actualization of self-deification… Black Magic is the
means by which Initiates of the Left-Hand Path experience being gods,
rather than praying to imaginary images of gods.”
4. Set: “The oldest known form of the Prince of Darkness, the
archetype of isolate self-consciousness”
Having put forward this, in my view, erroneous definition of the
Egyptian deity Sutekh (Seth, Set), the ToS then describes some of the
more positive aspects of Sutekh and claims them for itself.
So, according to its own manifesto, a devotee of the ToS should not be
susceptible to any form of mob psychology. However…
The ToS is led by the “Council of Nine”, which appoints the High
Priest of Set and the Executive Director.
There is a hint of strict control being imposed on members in the
following statement: “The design, care, and operation of the Temple
are entrusted by Set to his Priesthood… Because they are responsible
for the integrity of the Temple as a whole, however, they have the
authority both to evaluate and Recognize Initiates' competence and, if
necessary, to suspend or expel individuals who have proven themselves
incapable of maintaining Setian standards of dignity and excellence.”
Each member of the ToS is expected to affiliate with a “Pylon”, which
is the equivalent of a local congregation, although it can also be run
on a “correspondence” basis with worldwide membership. In addition,
there are a number of “Orders”. Each member is expected to affiliate
with an Order as well, choosing one that reflects his own interests
and inclinations.
The ToS makes the following claim: “Regretfully there still exist some
individuals whose idea of "Satanism" is largely a simple-minded
synthesis of Christian propaganda and Hollywood horror movies. The
Temple of Set enjoys the colorful legacy of the Black Arts, and we use
many forms of historical Satanic imagery for our artistic stimulation
and pleasure. But we have not found that any interest or activity
which an enlightened, mature intellect would regard as undignified,
sadistic, criminal, or depraved is desirable, much less essential to
our work.”
The ToS sees itself as an exclusive organization. It proclaims that it
has no need to participate in dialogue with any other religions.
Moreover, once an individual has made a definite commitment to the ToS
by requesting initiation into the 2nd (IIo) degree, which usually
happens in the first year of membership, “Aspirants to the Temple
should understand that it is not a club or fraternal society whose
tokens may be "collected" along with those of other social
affiliations, occult or otherwise. Membership in the Temple of Set
beyond the I* precludes membership in any other religious
organization.”
Some of the qualities the ToS seeks in its members are:
1. A sense of the fundamental unfairness of the world
2. “You must be convinced that there is more to you - to your sense of
ultimate identity - than the materialist world says there is.”
3. A yearning to learn
4. A desire to better oneself
5. Intellectual superiority [NB this is the opposite of the humility
that is required on the Right-Hand Path]
None of the “Pylons” are based on the East Coast. There is one for
Northern Europeans, one for Australians, one for the Bay area, one for
the Texas Gulf Coast, and the “Gates of Hell” Pylon, which operates by
correspondence. “Like all Pylons in the Temple of Set, the Gates of
Hell Pylon is meant to be used as an initiatory tool. Setians see
challenges and risks as necessary to their Xeper. The Gates of Hell
Pylon offers an opportunity for all Setians, no matter where they live
on earth, to interact with other Setians via the written word.”
http://www.xeper.org/goh/info.html
If you want to go into more detail, you can explore the structure and
bases of the Orders, and also read some essays in the Library, on the
ToS web site.
The focus of ToS, insofar as it is written, is the cult of the
individuality. The individual is encouraged to place his own needs,
development and attainment of power above the needs of any other
individual or society. Logically, therefore, a Setian should be the
first to resist any form of mob psychology. However, we arrive at a
certain paradox. The “Priesthood” of the ToS “have the authority both
to evaluate and Recognize Initiates' competence and, if necessary, to
suspend or expel individuals”. If a highly-placed individual or group
exerts this power over weaker members in order to increase their own
power, then, according to my understanding of ToS philosophy, the only
ones to blame are those who allow themselves to be walked over in this
way.
The ToS was founded in 1975 by Michael Aquino. His name has been
linked with child abuse, although no criminal charges were ever filed.
There is a detailed analysis of this topic at:
http://www.napanet.net/~moiraj/wwwboard/messages/2374.html A couple
of statements on this page may be of relevance to your query:
“In the early 1990's a young man named Paul Bonacci came forward with
allegations about Michael Aquino and violent cult mind control abuse.
- In 1995, Cathy O'Brien and Mark Phillips wrote a book called _Trance
Formation of America_, alleging child abuse and mind control at the
hands of Michael Aquino. Mr. Aquino doesn't seem to mind the
allegations in this particular book and has made no effort to stop its
publication or distribution, which has prompted me to ask him on
several occasions whether he also co-wrote it as a
misinformation ploy.”
And: “A San Bruno woman and longtime member of San Francisco's
notorious Temple of Set satanic church has obtained a temporary court
order against founder Michael Aquino, who she says has been harassing
her since she left the cult in April. Lillian Rosoff, a member of
the temple for 18 years, said in court papers filed June 17 in San
Mateo County Superior Court that Aquino has made repeated early
morning phone calls to her demanding that she return to the cult….
''I have an intense fear of the defendant and, due to past
experiences, do not know how far the defendant will go to ensure that
I return to the cult,'' Rosoff said in the affidavit.”
http://www.napanet.net/~moiraj/wwwboard/messages/2457.html
And: "Paul Bonacci and other child victims have given evidence in
great depth on the central role of Lt. Col. Michael Aquino in this
depravity," continues Chaitkin. "Aquino, alleged to have recently
retired from an active military role, was long the leader of an Army
psychological warfare section which drew on his 'expertise' and
personal practices in brainwashing, Satanism, Nazism, homosexual
pedophilia and murder." http://www.raven1.net/ra1.htm
So there are certainly hints of mind control being practised within
the ToS. Certainly, the reading list of the ToS contains books on
“Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic” and mob psychology, as seen in
this email message by Michael Aquino:
http://www.totse.com/en/religion/satanists/tsrl14.html
“"Temple of Set Reading List: Category 14 - Fascism, Totalitarianism,
and Magic”… by Michael A. Aquino … This is a very potent,
controversial, and dangerous area of magic, whose implications are
rarely examined, understood, or appreciated by the profane [which is
just as well]. Much of the data concerning it derives from Nazi
Germany, whose character as a state based upon magical rather than
conventional principles goes a long way towards explaining the
"peculiar" fascination which that episode continues to exert on
students of history and political science. Many of the techniques
pioneered or perfected by the Nazis continue to be used/abused -
generally in a superficial and ignorant fashion - by every country of
the world in one guise or another. The magician who can recognize and
identify these techniques and the principles behind them can thus
control or avoid their influence as desired.”
I have not been able to find any links between the ToS and mob
psychology as such, nor have I found anything specific to the East
Coast, however, there does appear to be a significant level of
evidence that the leaders of ToS do practice techniques of mid control
over the lower level members.
You ask what you can do to help your friend. One essential question
you must first answer is whether he wishes to be helped. If not, then
there is very little you can do. If yes, then you have to find a
means that will be as much as possible in tune with your friend’s
psyche. Possible ways forward include:
1. Cult busting – deprogramming - intervention. Rick Ross, one of
the best known deprogrammers, has set up the Ross Institute
http://www.rickross.com/ You will find a wealth of information on
this site. However, you need to keep in mind that some of the
techniques used by deprogrammers are very similar to those used to
achieve mind control in the first place. Deprogramming is often
defined as a process that takes place without the consent of the
subject, while intervention takes place with consent.
See also http://www.freeminds.org/psych/deprog.htm
http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/deprog.htm
http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studyintervention/studyguideIDX_intervention.htm
http://www.freedomofmind.com/steve/statements/sep20_01.htm
2. Exorcism. Basically, this approaches the issue from a standpoint
that might have more meaning to your friend. He may well see himself
as being controlled by the entity behind the ToS. An exorcism would
offer a ritualised approach to freeing him from this. Again, you need
to be careful. If you decide to approach any Christian group about
this, make sure that you sound them out VERY carefully. This is not
the way to go if your friend has antipathy towards the Christian
religion. I do not feel competent to suggest any specific
groups/resources in this area.
3. Other occult approaches. This means coming towards the position in
which your friend currently finds himself, regardless of your own
feelings and beliefs on the matter. Perhaps contact with followers of
the Right Hand Path can help. It’s difficult to know where to start.
If none of the following groups are able to help directly, they might
nevertheless be able to direct your friend to someone who can provide
appropriate advice or action:
http://www.whiteaglelodge.org/
http://www.bota.org/
http://www.polarissite.net/
http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.org/index.shtml
4. Healing:
You might wish to explore this issue with practioners of alternative
healing techniques such as Reiki, spiritual healing, etc.
5. Conventional medicine:
If your friend is truly clinically paranoid, recourse to psychiatry is
a further, although drastic, option to explore.
I do feel for you and your friend very much and really do hope that he
can find his way to the Light, in whatever way is meaningful to him.
I hope that this answer has given you a few pointers. If you feel that
I have not covered something in sufficient detail, or that there are
omissions in my answer, please request clarification before rating. |
